"Linguine with Walnut Sage Pesto" or "Know Your Onion!"

I tried to make this recipe last week, I'd finally gotten around to reading the January issue of Fitness and found a recipe for Walnut Sage Pesto that I decided I had to try. Fitness while a health magazine, still has a pretty good grasp on foods that taste good which I will forever appreciate. Somewhere down the line there seems to always be a divide between eating for pleasure and eating for health (I don't know why it has to be that way) and Fitness seems to hopscotch over it and give you both. At any rate, after skimming the pages, I went to the store and apparently all I remembered was the "walnut pesto" part and ended up back at home with a bunch of basil and hardly anything else that was actually in the recipe.

Needless to say I didn't bother blogging those results, (the light was going anyway). What I will tell you is that this is a recipe that's lovely either way you spin it. Basil in place of parsley worked out just as tasty (accident though it was) and there's a completely different version of what's fundamentally the same recipe over at Smitten Kitchen that I've made before that's also wonderful.

Know your blender! Know Your Onion!

The novelty in this one is that it's so herby, parsley and sage almost never get attention all on their own. They're usually shoved together in soups or as an entourage for chicken but I never really paid attention to the subtle flavors they have on their own. Parsley is actually kind of spicy! What?! If you get too much of a mouthful it's almost like black pepper, who knew?! Sage though, is still pretty homey, and just always reminds me of thanksgiving dressing not matter what I do ( sorry sage, I'll try and learn more about you), maybe the more I cook with it the better friends we'll become. What do you think Sage, Friday? You and me?

Noodles, friendly herbs, Parmesan, I was a big fan ( boyfriend was too, shhh don't tell anyone).Totally delicious. Fitness man, you can hopscotch over to my house any time. Come over Friday, we'll do some jello shots with Sage, we'll make it a party ( don't tell my boyfriend).


Linguine with Walnut Sage Pesto
Originally from Fitness Magazine
Makes 5 servings (says Fitness, I say it makes two or three)

• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1 9 ounce package fresh linguine (6 ounces dried)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 packed tbsp fresh whole sage leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until lightly golden and fragrant. (or if you're lazy like me, just spread em on a plate and give it a spin in the microwave for 2-5 minutes(know your appliance) and skip the oven bit) About 8 minutes. Let cool. 2. Bring large bowl of salted water to boil. Cook the linguine according to the package directions.Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
3.Combine the parsley, sage, garlic, salt, black pepper and walnuts into a blender; pulse until finely chopped.(once again, know your appliance here, my blender got all clogged up an useless when I tried to spin this all at once, so I suggest chopping the nuts up first and adding them to the blender last) Drizzle with the olive oil and blend well. Add 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan; pulse quickly to combine. 4. Transfer pesto to a serving bowl and add 1/3 cup cooking water. Add linguine and toss to combine, adding remaining pasta water as necessary. Top with remaining cheese and additional black pepper to taste.

All this "know your appliance" got me in a shins mood. I'll play some at our Sage party.